Nevada County picayune., 1887-11-02
AGRICULTURAL.
Raising Cotton.

ur tie reports for May, June and July is proved annually. These months really count for little, since they may premise much and yield little, or promise little and yield much. August is the critical month, which either makes or ruins tho crop. Yet annually, by August 1st. the wise men of the great cotton exchanges and boards of trade have already fixed the product of the crop, and, as con- sequence, its price also. For two succeeding years, and often before, we have seen the crop move up 10 this date with the most fiatterlng prospect of bountitul yield and then cut off at least One-half by the drOuth and intense heat of the critical month of August. On Ju. ly 3lst the crop promised grandly, and upon this promise Eastern buyers marked the product above the six and one-half million crop of last year and the price cores pondingly lower. August brought not only drouth and burning beat, but the devastating cotton worm; so that September has found the crop sorry plight, indeed. What is left Of the crop is opening pre- maturely, so that tue receipts at this time are largely in excess of receipts at this time last year. This, unfortunately strengthens the foreign estimate of an immense crop. The speculator points to this excess as the best proof of an increased production and to make him believe, at this time, that 1t IS the larger part of the crop, instead of the advance movement only, Is utterly impossible. By December 1st. when shipments begin mate rially to decrease, the error in the estimate of the crop will command attention and the price of the sta pie will advance proportionateiy. By that time however, the crop will have passed out of the plan ter's hands and he will receive no benefit from the advance.
 If the cotton-growers were an ln- dependent class, free from debt and able to handle their crops to the best advantage, they would have only to hold the crop for six ty days 10 force a correction in the overestimates and reap the profit of better prices. Unfortunately they are not in condition to do this. Mortgage cotton cannot be held.
 This brings the Southern farmer face to face with a most important question. How long can this con. dition of things continue! It has already brought debt, and serious embarrassment to the South, and it will continue so long as cotton remains the sole dependence of it's grower. 1.-the bread and meat and the other necessities mus. be bought on credit by the raiser, q mortgage, in almost every case, clincb the debt: and, when mort gagged, the control of the crop passes out of the hands of the planter. The only men who profit from cotton growing are those who are out of debt-or those, at least, who are not dependent on It for their daily supplies. Homemade hog and hOminy are much better assurance of these than an uncer- tain cotton crop,
 To handle the crop to the best advantage a general organization for concerted action Is not alto gether necessary. Individual self interest can he relied upon to ac- eomplish that more certainly and with less trouble than general or ganization. The independent farmer can always take care of himself, and he does it more thor oughly than any other class of cit izens; while, on the other hand, no sort of an organization can take the control of mortgaged cotton out of the hands of the debtor. To hope that the time will ever come when every cotton grower will be ont of debt, or when the producers can form a combination that will materially affect the price, were absurd; but individual prosperity and independence can be stimulated among them and ln- dividual discretion and self-inter- est relied upon tO secure the pest